$2.1m bribe: Ex-NNPC GM to forfeit California property, US court rules

$2.1m bribe: Ex-NNPC GM to forfeit California property, US court rules

Los Angeles, USA — A United States District Court has ordered the interim forfeiture of a California property linked to Paulinus Okoronkwo, a Nigerian-American and former General Manager of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), now NNPC Limited.

Okoronkwo was found guilty in September of transactional money laundering, tax evasion, and obstruction of justice. The charges stem from a $2.1 million payment he received from Addax Petroleum, a Swiss subsidiary of China’s state-owned Sinopec, during his tenure as General Manager of NNPC’s upstream division.

Prosecutors revealed that the payment, wired in October 2015 to Okoronkwo’s law firm trust account in Los Angeles, was disguised as consultancy fees but was in fact a bribe to secure favorable drilling rights in Nigeria. Evidence presented in court showed that Addax executives falsified records, dismissed internal whistleblowers, and misled auditors to conceal the transaction.

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Okoronkwo, who practiced immigration and personal injury law in Koreatown, Los Angeles, allegedly used nearly $1 million of the funds as a down payment on a residence located at 25340 Twin Oaks Place, Valencia, California. He failed to declare the income on his 2015 tax return.

On October 3, Judge John Walter granted the US government’s application for forfeiture of the property, citing a direct link between the real estate and the criminal offenses outlined in the indictment. The court authorized the Attorney General to seize the property under federal law.

A public notice has been issued inviting any party with a legal interest in the forfeited property to file a claim within 60 days. Sentencing for Okoronkwo is scheduled for December 1.

$2.1m bribe: Ex-NNPC GM to forfeit California property, US court rules